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WCOA 2010 A Platform To Formulate Action Plan For Future Challenges
By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah

KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 (Bernama) -- The 18th World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) here from Nov 8-11, is an opportunity to seek solutions and formulate an action plan for future challenges, particularly in the wake of the recent financial crisis.

The Director of Governance and Operations of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), Alta Prinsloo said the challenges included an increased need for high-quality international standards, corporate governance, risk management and control as well as the potential over-regulation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

She told Bernama in an interview here that the Congress programme also recognised the need for an increased awareness of corporate social responsibility in relation to the economy, society and environment.

She said, for this reason, the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) and the IFAC, are gathering the global accountancy profession, financial reporting and sustainability experts and regional business leaders in Malaysia for the WCOA.

According to Prinsloo, the Congress theme, Accountants: Sustaining Value Creation, reflects the growing interest of professional accountants, standard setters, regulators, business leaders and their strategic partners in achieving long term sustainable organisations.

"Sustainable practices need to extend beyond traditional ways of building strategies, monitoring performance and reporting of value. This makes the WCOA essential for all professional accountants, their employers and customers," she indicated.

She said the MIA and the WCOA 2010 Organising Committee are ready for the event in November, which will also serve as a catalyst, for value creation and sustainability.

The first WCOA was held in 1904. It had been held under the auspices of the IFAC every five years from 1977. Since 2002 however, it has been held every four years.

As global representative of the accountancy profession, IFAC's membership comprises more than 155 professional accountancy organisations, in over 120 countries.

Together, the organisations represent more than 2.5 million accountants.

MIA President Abdul Rahim Abdul Hamid expressed his appreciation to the Ministry of Tourism which played a pivotal role in securing the WCOA for Malaysia.

"We were up against Holland, Mexico, Belgium, Spain and India in the bid to host the event and all were formidable contenders.

"However, we are confident that Malaysia is more than ready now to meet the challenge of hosting the Congress," he said.

More than 150 speakers from over 40 countries and acknowledged to be experts in their respective fields, will share their thoughts on topics such as Islamic Finance, Accounting for Sustainability, Climate Change Reporting, Forensic Accounting in a Digital Environment, The Needs of Small and Medium Enterprises and Human Governance.

Among the confirmed speakers are Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, China's Vice Minister of Finance, Wang Jun, the Chairman of the International Public Interest Oversight Board, Stavros Thomadakis, the Chairman of the International Standards Board, Sir David Tweedie and International Valuation Standard Council Chairman, Michel Prada.

-- BERNAMA


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